Safe and unsafe spaces: Using drawings and photos to explore children's sense of safety in domestic violence Jane E.M. Callaghan, Joanne H. Alexander (University of Northampton), Lisa C. Fellin (University of East London) www.unars.co.uk jane.callaghan@northampton.ac.uk Beyond passive victimhood Children who experience domestic violence are capable of creative and contextually located forms of resistance and resilience, that enable them to retain a sense of agency, despite living in families permeated with coercive and controlling behaviours. Dominant professional and academic discourses position children who have experienced domestic violence as passive observers of abuse, ǁouŶded ďLJ the thiŶgs theLJ haǀe seeŶ ;Øverlien 2013, Callaghan et al 2015a, b, 2016 a,b). Research has emphasised the negative psychosocial impact of domestic violence on children, but does little to enable children to speak direĐtlLJ aďout their edžperieŶĐes. This literatures pathologiĐal focus and adult-ĐeŶtriĐ forŵ ĐaŶ uŶderestiŵate ĐhildreŶs ĐapaĐitLJ for agency, and obscure the complexity of their coping strategies. The Understanding Agency and Resistance project (UNARS) project challenged this representation of children, exploring ways of faĐilitatiŶg ĐhildreŶs ǀoiĐe, aŶd artiĐulatiŶg their situated aŶd self- experienced coping strategies. OBJECTIVE: To explore how children represent embodied and spatial experiences of violence, and how children use their material experiences to produce resistant embodied agency. Risky Spaces Method Interviews were conducted with 107 children and young people, aged 8-18, in Greece, Italy, UK and Spain. In addition to typical semi-structured interview techniques, where participants preferred, they had access to photo elicitation, free and guided drawing as part of the interview (Bridger, 2013; Gabb and Singh, 2014). Why use creative methods? Domestic abuse occurs in the interface of the psychosocial and material spaces, in the control of spaĐe, relatioŶships aŶd ďodies. We suggest that ĐhildreŶs ŵaŶageŵeŶt of aďuse is Ŷot therefore always (or even mostly) verbal – they learn to cope by using the spaces around them, and their own bodies. Consequently, it is important to use methods that are able to support children in articulating their material, affective and embodied experiences. The normative account of domestic violence positions children as passive witnesses. It also highlights LJouŶg peoples edžperieŶĐes as pathologiĐal, aŶd positioŶs their edžperieŶĐes as outside the normal range of childhood experiences. Extra-normative and counter-hegemonic experience can be difficult to articulate verbally (Callaghan, Gambo and Fellin, 2016a. Photo elicitation, drawing and other creative approaches enable articulation of complex self accounts that edžteŶd ďeLJoŶd the doŵiŶaŶt Đategories of ǁitŶess aŶd ǀiĐtiŵ, aŶd ĐaŶ eŶaďle ĐhildreŶ to account for subjectivities that exceed normative constructions of childhood. Creative methods enable an articulation of spatial and systemic dynamics, helping us to explore to eŶaďle ĐhildreŶs resilieŶĐe aŶd resistaŶĐe as ĐoŶtedžtual aŶd proĐessual, Ŷot just iŶdiǀidual (Gabb, 2014, Ungar, 2008, 2015). They enable articulation of embodied and emotional experience not always easily accessible to language (Banks, 2001). They enable children to re- vision the world and spaces in which violence took place, supporting their narration of located memories. Conclusions and Implications Creative methods support the articulation of embodied and material forms of resistance and coping They enable children and young people to articulate developmentally and socially non-normative experience Creative methods offer a valuable basis from which to explore ĐhildreŶs owŶ contexually located coping resources. We have developed a manualised group based intervention for children (7- 11) and young people (12-18) based on these and other creative ŵethods to ďuild oŶ aŶd traŶsforŵ estaďlished paradodžiĐal resiliences. Map of Rachel’s Hoŵe aŶd GardeŶ Constructing safe spaces Here Iŵ fiŶe. You kŶow? AŶd wheŶ Iŵ out of here I will be better (Amaya, 17, Spain) Outdoor spaces as spaces of wellbeing, and as a resource for the construction of a seŶse of self as ok. Yeah, thats ǁhLJ, aŶd ǁheŶ ŵLJ dad got ŵe this oǁl duǀet aŶd … I go upstairs and I go under it and I play with the owls Đause I like animals, and the owls make ŵe feel as if Iŵ iŶ a forest, aŶd I ŵake a game of it. (Nancy, 9, UK) Constructing safe material spaces, through play and materio-relational objects. Familial divisions are represeented and constructed through boundary liŶes aŶd the ĐreatioŶ of sets She redefines FaŵilLJ ďLJ iŶĐludiŶg her frieŶd “hes Ŷot eǀeŶ faŵilLJ, ďut I Đlass her as faŵilLJ, I Đlass her as ŵLJ sister ďeĐause shes alǁaLJs there for ŵe, shes ďeeŶ there through eǀerLJthiŶg, ďut theŵ ;People ǁho are thereͿ theLJ just doŶt ďother. ;Jess, 16, UKͿ Jess, Family Drawing Well when it (((violence)) would happen with (older brother) it was always in the bathroom, but with mum, it was between the kitchen, the garden, living room – all downstairs basically. Downstairs ǁas Ŷeǀer safe if Dad ǁas aďout ďeĐause theLJll ďe aŶ arguŵeŶt. Hed ŵake aŶ arguŵeŶt out of aŶ old argument, so downstairs was all his power, I suppose. (Jess, 18) From the window of my room I always used to see the roofs of the neighbours. During the winter they were full of snow and it was beautiful to look at them all. Often I also went out of the window, on the roof up to the neighbour's balcony; there were stairs there, and I would go out to my friends. My parents got angry every time they discovered what I did. But they do not know how many times I went out without them knowing! (Aldo, 14, Italy) An escape route , and a hidden gesture of defiance. ...soŵetiŵes ǁed go iŶto the gardeŶ ǁheŶ theLJ ǁere fightiŶg aŶd like Id push MarĐus oŶ the rope sǁiŶg aŶd ;;uŵŵͿͿ Id like laLJ oŶ the haŵŵoĐk aŶd stuff, ǁed like get the net and go like fishing in the pond and stuff trying to catch the fish ((said with joy)). (Rachel, aged 11, UK) A fantasy of home in which she re-captures idyllic normative childhood. Lucy: Id alǁaLJs hesitate of ǁhat I ǁould saLJ...eǀeŶ if I said Hello, Id alǁaLJs thiŶk ďefore like, is he just goiŶg to shut ŵe out? Is he goiŶg to respoŶd iŶ a ŶiĐe ǁaLJ, or ďe aŶgrLJ or aŶLJthiŶg like that? Id alǁaLJs think ahead of what I was saying